The LORD says, “Then I
will heal you of your idolatry and faithlessness, and my love will know no
bounds, for my anger will be gone forever! Hosea 14:4
I admit to being very intrigued by the story of
Hosea and Gomer. It has been on my mind constantly over the past week, and I
continue to try and mine out the gold from its depths.
The one thing I ponder was Gomer’s desire to repeatedly
run away from Hosea. In Hosea, I think she had everything a woman could want. She
had a home, security, a man who obviously loved her unconditionally, was
unbelievably forgiving and forbearing, generous and kind, gracious and
merciful. Who could ask for anything more? Many women I know would settle for
two or three things from the list and be content!
What were her thoughts
before she left each time? Did she think life was better “out there” or that
she was unworthy of Hosea’s love? There is nothing said about her repentance
and in fact the Scripture says God told Hosea “Go and get your wife
again. Bring her back to you and love her, even though she loves adultery” (Hosea
3:1). His wife loved her adultery! I want to be gentle with her
and think that she must have had some other motive or some sane reason to
continue to live an adulterous but the Word is crystal clear, she loved
her adultery. Wow…
Just like us.
We run willingly to
our various lovers in this world; those things we think will bring us comfort
and peace and release. Rather than finding anything we truly desire we find
dark hopelessness, emptiness, slavery. Our burdens increase and our misery
deepens.
The Lord comes for us
each time, seeks us out and finds us among the filth and ashes. He tells us He
loves us.
How Lord, how?
We don’t want Him to
find us or love us anymore; because it reminds us of how much we need
Him. (Yet we also fear his not loving us anymore!) We fear the power
He has over us (many of us waiting to be squashed like a bug or struck by lightning
for our inadequacies), thinking on some irrational level that He might use it
against us in some way. Use His power to harm us or make fools of us for trusting
and loving Him.
He reminds us of our
belonging to Him, our being His Bride and how much He cherishes us and would
never harm or abuse us. All our harlotry is forgotten (forgiven!) when we
return to Him. He envelops us in His massive and loving arms, His embrace warm
and welcoming.
In spite of our shame He
speaks His words of love to us…
Long ago, even before he
made the world, God loved you and chose you in Christ to be holy and without
fault in his eyes...He is so rich in kindness that he purchased your freedom
through the blood of his Son, and your sins are forgiven. He has showered his
kindness on you, along with all wisdom and understanding… Furthermore, because
of Christ, you have received an inheritance from God, for he chose you from the
beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago. (Ephesians 1:4, 7, 8, 11)
We are richly,
abundantly blessed.